Book Review: Illuminae by Amy Kaufman & Jay Kristoff (Spoiler Free)

5th June to 10th June

Physical Copy

Link to Goodreads description

I read this book as part of the Tome Topple read-a-thon, it's been sitting on my shelf for a while and I have attempted it before but I couldn't quite get into it last time.

I really enjoyed this book and there's a lot I could praise about it but to save the review getting too lengthy I shall cut it down to my most favourite aspects. First off, and the probably the thing I enjoyed the most, was the format. The page lay outs and story lay out makes it so much fun to read, it keeps the pace up and keeps you intrigued and interested, I think it is one of the cleverest physical books I have read based on how it's printed alone! I also really loved the I also really enjoyed the characters, sass and sarcasm is so rarely done as well as it is in this book! It was completely refreshing for me personally as I love sarcasm and sassy characters - not just characters who are said to be these things but how they act and what they say never proves this. I liked the plot, I don't tend to read sci-fi but I found this really interesting and it was a lot easier to follow than I thought it was going to be!

I did have a couple of minor gripes which if any of them had been the only issue this book would have been a 5 star but all together I just couldn't justify giving it 5 stars personally. The first issue I had was the romance and love, I didn't like the interactions between the two main protagonists, I found it weak and unrealistic and it felt like it was just filler I really didn't believe them as a couple. I understand that they probably put the romance in because it's YA and that's just what YA authors do but I think if you skipped all the interactions between the two of them you wouldn't have lost anything important. I also disliked the "twist" at the end, I saw it coming from fairly near the beginning and I was hoping for a little more of a reveal than that. Also, contradicting one of my pros a little, I felt all the characters were cardboard cutouts of each other - it is unrealistic to me that every single character (main, side, minor) is sassy all the time - it frustrated me a little. 

The things I disliked weren't so bad that it ruined the reading experience so this was a firm 4 star read!

T5W; Favourite Character Names

Hi All,

I'm here with another Top 5 Wednesday which was started by Ginger Reads Lainey and is now being looked after by Thoughts on Tomes and the topics can be found on Goodreads

There are a lot of names that I love in books so I have tried to pick  good variety. So in no particular order here are some of my favourite character names;

1. Elphaba
Wicked - Gregory Maguire
I love this name it's quite a strong name and I think it matches the character perfectly.

2. Kasia

Uprooted - Naomi Novik

I think this is a really nice name. It matches the theme of the book without being too outlandish and the name really conjures up an image of the character for me.

3. Stanley Yelnats

Holes - Louis Sachar

I don't particularly like the name Stanley but I like his full name and how it is the same backwards as it is forwards.

4.Feyre

A Court of Thorns and Roses - Sarah J Maas

I'm slowly falling out of love with the series and the 2nd book was very up and down for me but in terms of names I think that Feyre is a good name and perfect for the character. 

5. Lila (Delilah) Bard

A Darker Shade of Magic - V.E Schwab

I love the name Lila and even longer Delilah but I think the full name Lila Bard really matches the character and her personality!

Tag Tuesday: Intimidating Book Tag

I thought this would be a great tag to do as I'm hoping you guys will be able to let me know which ones are worth diving into and which ones I should forget about.

This will be a quick one, I'll simply put a picture for the answer and one line for an answer :)

1) A book you have been unable to finish,

Illuminae

I think I just picked this up at the wrong time but I couldn't quite get into this one so I had to put it on my "paused" shelf on Goodreads.











2. I haven't read this book because I haven't had the time.

The Final Empire

My copy of this is 647pages long! Everytime I think I'll take this one I get scared but I won it in a giveaway and I feel like I should really push myself to get to it!










3. I haven't read this book because it is a sequel.

Blood for Blood

I don't know if this one counts because it's not out until later this year but I couldn't think of another sequel I want to read. I loved Wolf by Wolf and can't wait for this sequel.










4. I haven't read this book because I read another book by this author and didn't like it.

Seconds

I've heard good things about this graphic novel and every time I'm in the bookstore I pick it up but I'm put off by the fact I couldn't stand the first volume of the Scott Pilgrim series (despite really enjoying the film).










5. I haven't read this book because it's humongous

Les Miserables

I have always wanted to read Les Miserables but it is scary big and after seeing the film I'm guessing it is probably quite complicated with all the characters lives intertwining.










6.I haven't read this book because it was a cover buy and then I read the reviews.

The Hourglass Factory

I loved the yellow and grey of the cover and the blurb sounded interesting but there are quite a lot of 2 star reviews on goodreads for this one.











7. The most intimidating book on my TBR is...

The Raven Boys

This is not the biggest book on my shelf but it is the most intimidating as the amount of hype around it worries me!

Book Review: Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carrol

2nd June - 4th June

Audible

Link to Goodreads Description

This was a re-read for me but it felt like a completely new experience since the last time I read this was in class at primary school and I was probably between the ages of 8 & 10. I absolutely hated it, it just seemed like a lot of nonsense strung together in a really crazy kind of way I also didn't like either of the Disney movies for pretty much the same reason. I decided to re-read this one out of curiosity but I wasn't expecting to enjoy it as much as I did.

I think I was too young to appreciate this when we read it in school but I loved it this time round and I think I picked up on a lot more. The thing I picked up on the most is how, even over a hundred years after being written, the characters in Wonderland are so reminiscent of various stereotypes we encounter or know of in real life. It just goes to show we can advance so much in terms of technology but politicians and other people who think they are above you will still spout nonsense until you believe them because you're too confused to contradict them, this is what I took from it anyway. What I loved the most is that the characters who are described as "Mad" made more sense than the majority of the other characters who were maybe made to sound wise or like their opinions etc were worth something/important. This again is something I think happens quite often people will make a point or contradict what people in control are saying and because they can't argue their case they just cast them as mad or stupid - Again this is just what I took from it. The narration was brilliant, I am not a massive Scarlett Johansson fan but she was fantastic and bring life to the characters and it was one of the best narrated audio-books I have listened to this year (second only to Stephen Fry reading Harry Potter).

The only think I disliked was that it was a little too far fetched in places for my liking, however it was written for children and I can imagine most children at the time probably enjoyed how weird it was.

Where to find me;

Goodreads / Twitter / Instagram

Read-A-Thon; Tome Topple TBR

Possible TBR

      I've decided to take part in the read-a-thon Tome Topple which will be my first read-a-thon. This is hosted by Thoughts on Tomes and the official twitter account for this is @Tome_Topple and the announcement video is linked here. The read-a-thon starts at midnight on 5th June and ends at midnight on 19th June.

Plan A:

 

      There are two books I am dying to get around to in the two weeks and that's Illuminae by Amy Kaufman & Jay Kristoff and The View from the Cheap Seats by Neil Gaiman.
      There is a lot of hype surrounding Illuminae especially since the second book was available for people to grab at BEA. I've owned this for a while now and I love the look of it, the way it's formatted is so unique it looks fascinating however I'm a little intimidated by the hype and I have actually attempted this book before but I couldn't really get into it. I'm hoping I'm in a better frame of mind to tackle this again and finish it.
      I am super excited to get around to The View from the Cheap Seats by Neil Gaiman though. I am a massive Neil Gaiman fan and this is probably my most anticipated read of the year! I own the speech that he gave at Philadelphia University (Make Good Art) and I loved it, he has such a way with words and he's so inspirational to me. His books have got me through some pretty dark times and I'm sure this will be another beacon of light! This unfortunately is a massive chunk of a hardback though so the plan is to put this next to my bed and read a little every night in the time I would usually spend watching Youtube videos.

The Backups:

      I'm really hoping I enjoy and finish my Plan A books but if I'm struggling I have a couple in mind to move onto. My first back up would be A Gathering of Shadows by V.E Schwab I read This Savage Song by her last month and I'm dying to get my hands on more of her works, I wasn't overly impressed by ADSOM (book 1) but I did enjoy it and want to carry on with the series.
     My second choice would be The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson. I won this in a Goodreads giveaway last year and I keep meaning to pick it up but the size intimidates me.
     My last resort would be Queen of Shadows by Sarah J Maas - I really enjoyed the first two books in this series but Heir of Fire really got me mad and then I read The Assasin's Blade and from there I just fell out of love with the series. I've read A Court of Mist and Fury recently and I had some gripes with that too, I feel like Sarah J Maas just tries too hard to change things in her series, so much so that I personally don't enjoy them. I'll love a character in one book and then in the next it feels like she's got bored with them and so changes almost everything about them - despite this mini-rant I am hoping to get round to Queen of Shadows at some point.

Taking a Break:

In one of Thoughts on Tomes videos she suggested reading some graphic novels to break things up a little. I do have some Mangas that I'd like to get around to but instead I think I might take a break now and then to read one of my Kindle books (usually contemporary reads).

Updates;

I tend to update my Goodreads every night before I go to bed so I'll continue doing that the link to my page is here.
I'll also try and update my twitter @KandtheCatRead so feel free to follow me.
And finally I'll be posting pictures of my progress over on my instagram @kirstyandthecatread

Links to books mentioned;

Illuminae / The View from the Cheap Seats / Make Good Art / A Gathering of Shadows / The Final Empire / Queen of Shadows /

May Wrap Up

I've had a pretty good reading month both in terms of numbers and also what I've read. I will link my full reviews for each book below feel free to check out my thoughts. For this post though I will try to keep things short and sweet. Feel free to click the words "Full Review" for any of the books if you're interested in my full thoughts :)

Clockwork Angel - Cassandra Clare
April 15th - May 3rd (Audible)
3.5 Stars
Full Review
This was a little disappointing due to all the hype but if you can get passed the hype and go in with no expectations it's a pretty interesting fast paced read.

Kiss of Deception - Mary E Pearson

5th May - 16th May

4 Stars

Full Review
I love the writing in this novel, it's so lyrical and beautiful it really helps set the tone and mood. Great little twist toward the end overall incredibly well written.

A Court of Mist & Fury - Sarah J Maas
3rd May to 18th May
3.5 / 4 Star
Full Review
When I think back on this read I have a Love/Hate vibe. On the one hand it was everything I wanted it to be in and a little more but on the other hand the pacing was off and there was too much sex to name just a couple of my issues.

Saint Anything - Sarah Dessen

5th May to 18th May

3 Stars

Full Review

If this is the kind of novel you would normally read and enjoy you will adore this book I just found it to be okay. There was a lot of potential for some interesting scenes and they were all missed.

This Savage Song - V.E Schwab

14th May to 20th May (Release date 7th July)

Full Review

I adored this book. V.E Schwab writes really refreshing, different YA fantasy novels. She doesn't focus so much on things that don't matter her books very much get to the point and I love that. this was probably my favorite read of the month!

Me Before You - JoJo Moyes

20th May to 28th May

Full Review

I went into this book not really expecting a lot A) because this genre has not been my typical read since my early 20's and B) because of all the hype. I saw an advert for the movie and was intrigued - Boy was I pleasantly surprised. Charming, heart warming and so emotional.

Scarlett Says - Scarlett Moffat

29th May to 31st May

Full Review

Loved it. If you love her on Gogglebox you'll love this book!

T5W: Book Theme Songs

Hi All,

I'm here with another Top 5 Wednesday which was started by Ginger Reads Lainey and is now being looked after by Thoughts on Tomes and the topics can be found on Goodreads

I've linked the songs below so if you're curious or if you love the song just click the title :)
This post will probably be short and sweet as the songs I've picked have all been picked for the same reason which is that the lyrics and the actual music match the tone of the books I've mentioned.

The Emperors New Clothes - Panic! at The Disco
The Rise of Wrath (Title may change)
This may be cheating a little? This song reminds me very much of the book I am currently writing. The lyrics and the actual music match the tone of my book perfectly.

Black Roses - Clare Bowen
Water for Elephants - Sara Gruen

Two Black Cadillacs - Carrie Underwood
Serena - Ron Rash

Never Tear Us Apart - Paloma Faith
Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte

Begin Again - Taylor Swift
Lola and the Boy Next Door - Stephanie Perkins